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UN Security Council Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza as U.S. Abstains

(New York Times) Farnaz Fassihi - The UN Security Council on Monday passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the remaining weeks of Ramadan - with 14 votes in favor and the U.S. abstaining. U.S. officials said they abstained in part because the resolution did not condemn Hamas. The resolution also called for the "immediate and unconditional release of all hostages." Prime Minister Netanyahu's office called the U.S. abstention a "clear departure from the consistent U.S. position in the Security Council since the beginning of the war," as the U.S. vetoed three previous calls for a halt to the fighting. Netanyahu ordered a delegation scheduled to go to Washington to discuss alternatives to a planned Israeli offensive into Rafah to remain in Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said, "Israel will not cease firing. We will destroy Hamas and continue fighting until every last hostage has come home." Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who was already in Washington for meetings, said, "We will operate against Hamas everywhere - including in places where we have not yet been. We have no moral right to stop the war while there are still hostages held in Gaza." U.S. National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby insisted there had been no change in U.S. policy.
2024-03-26 00:00:00
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